With the exception of water, tea is the most widely consumed of all beverages. Its world-wide per capita consumption has been estimated at 0.1 liter per day. Furthermore, other brewed beverages such as fruit infusions, iced tea and coffee are increasingly consumed world-wide. In western countries, brewed beverages tend to be prepared at home, however, there is a growing trend for consumers to consume such beverages out of the home in, for example, cafes and bars. It is thought that consumers prefer to enjoy a beverage-brewing experience that involves more than being supplied with infusible materials and hot water. There is therefore a need for an alternative brewing method.
Beverage brewing machines are known. For example, United Stated patent application published as U.S. 2007/0034083 discloses a brewing device for the preparation of beverages such as coffee, tea, roasted-barley coffee, camomile tea and similar brews and infusions. In one embodiment, hot water contained in a hopper flows down through a valve to produce a kind of Umbrellas effect to urge the down-flowing water against the walls of the brew chamber, thereby cleaning them from the brewing residues. However, the use of such ‘umbrella’ showers is ineffective and requires large amounts of water.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,827,845 discloses a beverage making machine, which comprises a tangential water or air inlet or tuyere in the lower part of the brewing chamber, and a flush system comprising tangentially oriented nozzles or tuyeres in the upper end of the brewing chamber.
GB 1,040,095 discloses a beverage brewing apparatus in which the brewing water and air enter the brewing chamber through an opening which is substantially tangential with the wall.
WO 02/43540 discloses a tea brewing machine that has a housing, a vessel for receiving leaf tea, hot water supply means for supplying hot water to the vessel, means for physically agitating the leaf tea within the vessel to maximise the rate and extent of infusion, and a siphon arrangement for siphoning the infusion out of the vessel before it is dispensed. In one embodiment hot water is pumped into the brewing vessel as water jets.
While such a machine functions well there are disadvantages with regard to the efficacy of the brewing process including the removal of the entire brew vessel between servings for cleaning and for the addition of ingredients for a new serving. In addition, the use of the water jets directed into the brewing vessel from above requires high operating pressure.
The present invention is directed to preferably one or more of the following objectives.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a beverage brewing apparatus that is simple to operate, comprises few moving parts, and can perform an effective and efficient brewing process,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a beverage brewing apparatus that is suitable for consistently providing individual servings of a multiplicity of freshly brewed beverages and that provides an effective rinsing step in order to prevent flavour carry over between individual brews.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a beverage brewing apparatus that provides an attractive brewing experience for the consumer.